Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday took a dig at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Chouhan wrote on Twitter: “Aisa bhi kya bolna ki bolna pade ki bola tha.” (How it was said, that need arises to say that I spoke).
Chouhan's reaction was in response to controversy created by two recently published books, including the one by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s former Media Adviser Sanjaya Baru.
On Friday, Manmohan’s communication adviser made a belated attempt to redeem his battered image, suggesting that even that the media, especially television, did not take enough note about the all-round progress of the country and the Prime Minister's thrust on development.
Speaking at a meet-the-press programme at the Press Club of India in New Delhi, Pankaj Pachauri said Manmohan Singh had in the last decade given 1,158 speeches — almost one every three days.
Pachauri further rolled out statistics about "unprecedented" development over the last 10 years which he said were not being picked up by media "as its priorities are different”. He also said that the Prime Minister wanted his work to speak for himself and did not seek publicity for himself.